Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Royal Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Official portrait of Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP.jpg
Incumbent
Brandon Lewis
since 13 February 2020
Northern Ireland Office
StyleNorthern Ireland Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and the Commonwealth)
StatusSecretary of state
Minister of the Crown
ResidenceHillsborough Castle
AppointerThe Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthAt Her Majesty's pleasure
PrecursorLord Lieutenant of Ireland
Governor of Northern Ireland
Formation24 March 1972
First holderWilliam Whitelaw
Websitewww.nio.gov.uk
Politics of Northern Ireland
Politicsofnorthernirelandlogo.svg
Executive
Assembly
Law
Northern Ireland in the UK
Local government
  • Other countries
  • v
  • t
This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Constitution
The Crown
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections & Referendums
Devolution
Administration
Crown Dependencies
Overseas Territories
Foreign relations
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom portal
  • Other countries
  • v
  • t

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (Irish: Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann; Scots: Secretar o State for Norlin Airlan),[1][2] also referred to as the Northern Ireland secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office.[3] The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, 17th in the ministerial ranking.[4]

The position is normally described simply as 'the Secretary of State' by residents of Northern Ireland.[citation needed]

The office holder works alongside the other Northern Ireland Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The incumbent is Brandon Lewis, following his appointment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February 2020.

History[]

Historically, the principal ministers for Irish (and subsequently Northern Ireland) affairs in the UK Government and its predecessors were:

  • the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (c.1171–1922);
  • the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1560–1922); and
  • the Home Secretary (1922–1972).[5]

In August 1969, for example, Home Secretary James Callaghan approved the sending of British Army soldiers to Northern Ireland.[6] Scotland and Wales were represented by the Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Wales from 1885 and 1964 respectively, but Northern Ireland remained separate, owing to the devolved Government of Northern Ireland and Parliament of Northern Ireland.

The office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was created after the Northern Ireland government (at Stormont) was first suspended and then abolished following widespread civil strife. The British government was increasingly concerned that Stormont was losing control of the situation. On 30 March 1972, direct rule from Westminster was introduced.[7] The Secretary of State filled three roles which existed under the previous Stormont regime:[8]

Direct rule was seen as a temporary measure, with a power-sharing devolution preferred as the solution, and was annually renewed by a vote in Parliament.

The Sunningdale Agreement in 1973 resulted in the brief existence of a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive from 1 January 1974, which was ended by the loyalist Ulster Workers' Council strike on 28 May 1974. The strikers opposed the power-sharing and all-Ireland aspects of the new administration.

The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976) and Northern Ireland Assembly (1982–1986) were unsuccessful in restoring devolved government. After the Anglo-Irish Agreement on 15 November 1985, the UK Government and Irish Government co-operated more closely on security and political matters.

Following the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement) on 10 April 1998, devolution returned to Northern Ireland on 2 December 1999. This removed many of the duties of the Secretary of State and his Northern Ireland Office colleagues and devolved them to locally elected politicians, constituting the Northern Ireland Executive.

Formerly holding a large portfolio over home affairs in Northern Ireland, the current devolution settlement has lessened the secretary of state's role, granting many of the former powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive. The secretary of state is now generally limited to representing Northern Ireland in the UK cabinet, overseeing the operation of the devolved administration and a number of reserved and excepted matters which remain the sole competence of the UK Government e.g. security, human rights, certain public inquiries and the administration of elections.[9]

Created in 1972, the position has switched between members of Parliament from the Conservative Party and Labour Party. As Labour has not fielded candidates in Northern Ireland and the Conservatives have not had candidates elected to Northern Ireland Assembly or for House of Commons seats in the region, those appointed as secretary of state for Northern Ireland have not represented a constituency in Northern Ireland. This contrasts with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales.

The secretary of state officially resides in Hillsborough Castle, which was previously the official residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland, and remains the royal residence of the monarch in Northern Ireland. The secretary of state exercises their duties through, and is administratively supported by, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

The devolved administration was suspended several times (especially between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007) because the Ulster Unionist Party and Democratic Unionist Party were uncomfortable being in government with Sinn Féin when the Provisional Irish Republican Army had failed to decommission its arms fully and continued its criminal activities. On each of these occasions, the responsibilities of the ministers in the Executive then returned to the Secretary of State and his ministers. During these periods, in addition to administration of the region, the Secretary of State was also heavily involved in the negotiations with all parties to restore devolved government.

Power was again devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007. The Secretary of State retained responsibility for policing and justice until most of those powers were devolved on 12 April 2010.[10] Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales into one Secretary of State for the Union,[11] in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.[12]

List of Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland[]

Colour key
  Conservative   Labour

Portrait Name Term of office Length of term Party Prime Minister
No image.svg William Whitelaw
MP for Penrith and The Border 		24 March 1972 2 December 1973 1 year, 8 months and 8 days Conservative Edward Heath
Francis Leslie Pym.jpg Francis Pym
MP for Cambridgeshire 		2 December 1973 4 March 1974 3 months and 2 days Conservative
Merlyn Rees appearing on After Dark , 16 July 1988 - (cropped).jpg Merlyn Rees
MP for Leeds South 		5 March 1974 10 September 1976 2 years, 6 months and 5 days Labour Harold Wilson
No image.svg Roy Mason
MP for Barnsley 		10 September 1976 4 May 1979 2 years, 7 months and 24 days Labour James Callaghan
No image.svg Humphrey Atkins
MP for Spelthorne 		5 May 1979 14 September 1981 2 years, 4 months and 9 days Conservative Margaret Thatcher
No image.svg Jim Prior
MP for Lowestoft (until 1983)
MP for Waveney (from 1983) 		14 September 1981 11 September 1984 2 years, 11 months and 28 days Conservative
Douglas Hurd, November 2007 cropped.jpg Douglas Hurd
MP for Witney 		11 September 1984 3 September 1985 11 months and 23 days Conservative
Official portrait of Lord King of Bridgwater crop 2.jpg Tom King
MP for Bridgwater 		3 September 1985 24 July 1989 3 years, 10 months and 21 days Conservative
No image.svg Peter Brooke
MP for Cities of London
and Westminster South 		24 July 1989 10 April 1992 2 years, 8 months and 17 days Conservative
John Major
No image.svg Sir Patrick Mayhew
MP for Tunbridge Wells 		10 April 1992 2 May 1997 5 years and 22 days Conservative
No image.svg Mo Mowlam
MP for Redcar 		3 May 1997 11 October 1999 2 years, 5 months and 8 days Labour Tony Blair
Peter Mandelson at Politics of Climate Change 3.jpg Peter Mandelson
MP for Hartlepool 		11 October 1999 24 January 2001 1 year, 3 months and 13 days Labour
Official portrait of Lord Reid of Cardowan, 2020.jpg John Reid
MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill 		25 January 2001 24 October 2002 1 year, 8 months and 29 days Labour
Official portrait of Lord Murphy of Torfaen 2020 crop 2.jpg Paul Murphy
MP for Torfaen 		24 October 2002 6 May 2005 2 years, 6 months and 12 days Labour
Official portrait of Lord Hain crop 2, 2019.jpg Peter Hain
MP for Neath
(also Welsh Secretary) 		6 May 2005 28 June 2007 2 years, 1 month and 22 days Labour
Shaun Woodward, June 2009 cropped.jpg Shaun Woodward
MP for St Helens South 		28 June 2007 11 May 2010 2 years, 10 months and 13 days Labour Gordon Brown
Official portrait of Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP crop 2.jpg Owen Paterson
MP for North Shropshire 		12 May 2010 4 September 2012 2 years, 3 months and 23 days Conservative David Cameron
(Coalition)
Theresa Villiers Official Portrait.jpg Theresa Villiers
MP for Chipping Barnet 		4 September 2012 14 July 2016 3 years, 10 months and 10 days Conservative
David Cameron
(II)
Official portrait of Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP crop 2.jpg James Brokenshire
MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup 		14 July 2016 8 January 2018 1 year, 5 months and 25 days Conservative Theresa May
Official portrait of Karen Bradley crop 2.jpg Karen Bradley
MP for Staffordshire Moorlands 		8 January 2018 24 July 2019 1 year, 6 months and 16 days Conservative
Official portrait of Julian Smith crop 2.jpg Julian Smith
MP for Skipton and Ripon 		24 July 2019 13 February 2020 6 months and 20 days Conservative Boris Johnson
Official portrait of Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP crop 2.jpg Brandon Lewis
MP for Great Yarmouth 		13 February 2020 Incumbent 1 year, 7 months and 6 days* Conservative

* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 19 September 2021.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ 2008 ANNUAL REPORT North South Council o Ministers
  2. ^ "Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann - Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann, an Feisire Theresa Villiers - Department of Foreign Affairs". www.dfa.ie.
  3. ^ "Secretary of State for Northern Ireland". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Her Majesty's Government: The Cabinet". parliament.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Home Office". National Archives Catalogue. National Archives. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  6. ^ Melaugh, Martin. "The Deployment of British Troops – 14 August 1969". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  7. ^ Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ Mark Simpson (12 April 2010). "New era for policing and justice in Northern Ireland". BBC News. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  11. ^ LETTERS@THETIMES.CO.UK, WRITE TO (30 July 2020). "Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet". ISSN 0140-0460.
  12. ^ UKCLA (7 September 2020). "Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big?". UK Constitutional Law Association. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
Retrieved from ""